Only Fools and Horses The Musical continues at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 31 August 2019.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
The much-anticipated musical version of John Sullivan’s beloved Peckham-based sitcom finally opens at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. It’s a risky business, given the near-religious adulation the British public seem to have for this TV show, but fans of the original will probably not be disappointed. Whether the London musical theatre devotees will be quite so welcoming is another matter…
Despite my apathy towards the show – I’m possibly the only person I know who doesn’t love the original TV version of Only Fools and Horses – I actually quite enjoyed this musicalised reincarnation.
It’s a fun, warm-hearted homage that cherry-picks the best of the 64-episode TV show. Key events, and chunks of the original dialogue, are shamelessly mashed together, so the writing is actually strong and surprisingly fluid, given this chuck-it-all-in approach. And it’s served up by a great cast that’s clearly loving every minute of it.
The idea for the musical originated with Sullivan himself, who began work on it with Chas Hodges – he of Chas and Dave – before both passed away (Sullivan in 2011, Hodges in 2018). Hoping to see his father’s dream realised, Sullivan’s son Jim approached the comedian Paul Whitehouse to complete the project, which he did, and indeed Whitehouse stars in the finished product as Grandad.
Like the plot, musically it’s a bit of a hodge-podge. There are original songs – including the early material written by Sullivan and Hodges, supplemented by newer numbers by Whitehouse and Sullivan Jr – and, rather lazily, a couple of pop songs (Bill Withers’ ‘Lovely Day’ and Mick Hucknall’s ‘Holding Back the Years’). The Chas and Dave songs ‘Margate’ and ‘That’s What I Like’ get an airing too.
Fans of the TV show will also be pleased to know that the original theme music, ‘Hooky Street’, makes an early appearance (and is probably the best song of the night).
Despite the odd mix, the musical numbers hang together well enough, and the pub setting – the Nag’s Head, of course – and musical supervisor Stuart Morley’s orchestrations (including banjo and honky-tonk piano) helps with this.
One wonders what the final show would’ve sounded like had Hodges and Sullivan completed the score… I reckon a Peckham knees-up Once wouldn’t be too far off the mark, although I do shiver at the idea of a Chas and Dave jukebox musical. I also wonder how successful it would be if it had no music at all, as I’m not convinced it adds all that much to the show.
The principals are well cast, with some impressive impersonations from the likes of Jeff Nicholson as Boycie, Peter Baker as Trigger and Pippa Duffy as Cassandra. And Whitehouse makes for a wonderfully warm and loveable Grandad.
David Jason’s shoes are not easy shoes to fill, I’m sure, so all credit to Tom Bennett for his likeable Del Boy. He manages the familiar voice and mannerisms – and yes, all of the classic malapropisms – even if he doesn’t quite grasp the part with as much gusto or presence as he should.
The most successful of the leads is newcomer Ryan Hutton as Rodney Trotter, who likely succeeds the most precisely because he doesn’t work too hard with his impersonation; fresh out of Italia Conti and making his professional debut, he makes the character his own, giving just enough of a nod to Nicholas Lyndhurst’s creation to be familiar.
It has to be said, though, that the revelation of the evening is Oscar Conlon-Morrey, who, in a number of highly comedic bit parts, steals every scene he’s in. His barista got one of the biggest laughs of the night.
It’s all presented very slickly and looks great. Liz Ascroft excels with the re-creations of the costumes and the interiors – the sitting room looks uncannily like it’s straight off the TV set – and director Caroline Jay Ranger keeps everything moving at a decent pace.
If you’re a fan of the show, I’m sure you’ll get a kick from seeing it brought to life on stage. You can expect the falling chandelier, the bar-flap blunder and even the Robin Reliant (although it’s telling that the biggest cheer of the night went to the yellow three-wheeler).
It’s also joyously unpretentious, so hopefully will attract a more diverse crowd into the West End. I’ll be interested to follow it fortunes in regards to passing foreign tourist trade, though, as it’s likely to make much less sense to those who don’t know the characters. Yes, the story is universal enough, and it works as an affectionate love letter to London – well, more of a “bonnet de douche” to Peckham, as Del Boy would say. But not all the jokes are likely to land. (The same might be said for younger home audiences not familiar with the show.)
Still, I appreciate that it’s comedy gold. Just more like the kind of leaning-Eiffel-tower-of-Pisa gold that you’d find in Del Boy’s market stall…
Craig Glenday
Tickets for Only and Fools and Horses The Musical are available HERE.
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